I had mixed
emotions about one aspect of being the US Amateur Team (USAT) South Champions:
winning meant we advanced to the Internet playoff, to be held on ICC. I had
been here twice before (Piece Mongers in 2003 and Return of the Kings in 2004),
and both times we were eliminated in the first round, with my own contribution
standing at zero for two. My loss to NM Dennis Rylander in 2004 was
particularly painful.I hung my Queen
in a winning position (Queen and 2 Pawns versus Queen), by walking my King up
the Board and into a skewer. I play casual games on the ICC, and sporting an
ICC blitz rating a good 500 points lower than my USCF rating did little to
boost my confidence.

The 2011 USAT
Playoff went a long way toward to assuaging those past disappointments.

Our preparation
for the playoff started a full six months before the actual event.Our team from 2010 had gained too many
rating points to play together again, and we were faced with the need to
recruit a new player. With the possibility of winning the South Championship in
the back of my mind, a young, Internet-chess savvy player seemed like a good
strategic move. Who better than Matt Helfst (1938), whose day job is working
for...Chess.com! Matt, who I affectionately dubbed "our secret weapon", joined
our three returning players, IM Javad Maharramzade (2610), me (2099), and
Jeremy Mandelkern (2098). Once we captured the South Championship, the reality
of the ICC playoff was now five weeks away. With two prior trips to the playoff,
I knew what to expect, but for the rest of my team this would be their playoff
debut.

There are many
logistics needed for the playoff. First, we needed a senior Tournament Director
(TD). Those are scarce in the Melbourne area, and so I reached out to National
TD Harvey Lerman, and he graciously agreed to drive over from Orlando. One of
the easiest logistical items was our main playing site. Javad and I work for
Modus Operandi in Melbourne, Florida which provided everything we needed.

Since Matt hails
from North Carolina, his first choice was to play near his home. I contacted
Gary Newsom and Keith Hooker of the NC chess community to ask for help. Keith
volunteered his services as TD, and the NC group began looking for a suitable
site. This was ultimately successful, but took a little time to figure
out.Meanwhile the siren song of the
Southern Open, scheduled the weekend after the playoff, plus the opportunity to
visit friends, led Matt to decide to fly down and play with the rest of the
team. Although not all preparation appears on the board, we are grateful to the
NC chess community for stepping forward to support our team.

The USAT playoff
also provides the opportunity to research the past games of your opponents.
Jeremy volunteered to take point on this, and he quickly compiled a database of
over twelve hundred games played by members of the other teams. On board 2, my
opponents deviated from our research games, and hence my preparation was of
limited value. We had the most past games for our board 1 opponents, but due to
demands of work and his masters degree program, Javad was not able to prepare
at all!

The big day soon
arrived, and my team started setting up 3 hours before round 1 so we would have
time to address any glitches and get some lunch. Our Internet and ICC
connections were smooth as silk, and we piled in the car to pick up subs at
Don's Hoagies, leaving Javad to mind the shop. The hoagie staff noticed my
Modus Operandi shirt, and asked about the company, which is near the sub shop.
The talk quickly turned to our chess match, and the team of 3 making our
sandwiches seemed genuinely interested in the match. Chess: a good topic for
small talk. Who would have thought it?!

Soon enough,
round 1 arrived, and the playoff was underway. Our first match was against the
East Champions, West Orange Crush, playing at the Rahway Chess Mates Club, with
John Hagerty as TD. Their line-up was IM Mikail Zlotnikov (2330), NM Peter
Radomskyj (2246), Jose Fernandez, Captain (2108), and Victor Rosas (2052). The difference
in the average rating of the two teams was less than 3 points. My feeling was
this was a match that could go either way, but I liked our chances. At one
point in the match, the East team lost its Internet connection for roughly 15
minutes. Under the playoff rules, there is no penalty for this, and fortunately
the interruption was resolved quickly.

The games were
all hard fought.On board 3, Jeremy
quickly obtained a winning position and converted smoothly.

Fernandez,Jose (2108) - Mandelkern,Jeremy
(2110) [E60][Mandelkern, Jeremy]
This was my
first match in the USAT playoffs with some light annotations.
1.d4 d6 2.Nf3
g6 3.b4
Phew! Here I had gambled with 2: ...g6 as my more familiar Wade
variation 2: ...Bg4 has some theoretical issues. The risk was a KID
transpositon which would've put me almost entirely in unfamiliar territory from
the black side.
3...Bg7 4.Bb2 Nf6 5.e3 0-0 6.c4 c5!
This principled
strike gives black equality.
7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.b5
If bxc, I had
planned Na6 and white can't hold onto his extra pawn. 9...a6 10.a4 Bf5
11.Nbd2 Nbd7 12.Nb3 b6 13.Be2 axb5 14.axb5 Rxa1+ 15.Bxa1 Ra8 16.0-0 Ra2 17.Nfd2
Ne4 18.Nxe4 Bxe4 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Nc1
White's position was already extremely
difficult but this 20: Nc1 proves inadequate. Better was the meek 20: Re1
however white still has a monumental task to wriggle out.
20...Rc2 21.f4
To
prevent Ne5 but this move creates further problems. 21...Nf6 22.h3 Ne8!
White
is now behond salvation after this thematic repositioning of the knight.
23.Rd1
Nd6 24.Kf2 Nxc4 25.Nd3 Nb2!?
Nd6 may be objectively stronger but I was able
to calculate the game continuation to my 31st move and saw the king trek as
played seemed to win so thus this continuation seemed simpler.
26.Nxb2 Rxb2
27.g3 I was threatening Bxg2.
27...c4 28.Ke1 c3 29.Rc1 c2 30.Kd2 Rb3
31.Bc4 Ra3!
The position I saw with my 25th move. White now has no way to
challenge the c-pawn.
32.Be2 e6 33.g4 Kf8 34.Re1 Ke7 35.Rc1 Kd6 36.Re1 Kc5
37.h4 Kb4 38.h5 Kb3 39.hxg6 hxg6 40.Bd3
Desperation but the win is now
clear as day.
40...Bxd3 41.Kxd3 Kb2+ 42.Kd2 Rc3! 43.Rc1 Rc8 0-1
On board 1,
Javad was able to win a pawn, reaching a position with two Rooks, opposite
colored bishops, and several pawns apiece. Javad worked hard, using bucket
loads of time trying to find a way to make progress against IM Mikail
Zlotnikov's defense. As Javad fell under 10 minutes and way behind on the
clock, the rooks were traded, along with just about everything else, leading to
a draw.

Now one more
point would decide the match. On board 4, the game was balanced throughout. The
pieces were slowly traded, reaching a position with a Queen and 4 pawns each.
Normally this would be a dead draw if not for the match situation and on top of
that, the clock factor. In this case,
Victor Rosas had a huge time advantage, the game reaching a position with 16
minutes for Rosas and less than 1 minute for Matt. Neither player could offer a
draw since both teams needed the win, the South to secure the match, and the East
to even the match score. As the game progressed, Rosas rattled off a series of
checks with his Queen. Next it was Matt's chance to use his Queen to start
checking Rosas' King. On move 50, Rosas paused and used 3 of his 16 minutes,
and then walked his King into a skewer, dropping his Queen, much like my own
disaster against Rylander seven years earlier.

annotations by Matt Helfst

1.c4
In a team event it is important to play
the opening you are most comfortable with, even if you are afraid your opponent
might have prepared against it.1...e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3g6
Not the most common choice as the
e-pawn was already moved for the development of the dark squared Bishop. Most
reliable is 3...Nf6 entering the 4 Knights system in the English opening.4. d4
Also possible is 4. d3 playing a more
closed system but I wanted to play for an open position where there would be
tactical opportunities and better chances for a decisive game as I had one of
our White colors in this match and pressure to win for the team.4...exd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. e3
It may seem bad to block in the c1
Bishop but I did not want to exchange Knights on c6 when he plays bxc6 and has
an easier time getting in d5 move. So now my intention is to play b3 and Bb2 to
fianchetto the Bishop on the long diagonal.
6...Nf6 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O Nxd4
The start of a nice idea. Black intends
to break in the center next.9. exd4 d5
At this point I was not so happy with
my position. It seems as if Black has equalized at this point once he can
counter with this central pawn advance. 10. Bg5
I also considered 10. b3 but after
10...dxc4 11. bxc4 I was not sure whether my "hanging pawns" would be
strong or weak. So I decide to go for active piece play in compensation for the
isolated Queen pawn.
10...dxc4 11. Bxc4Qd6
A nice move. The threat is now Nf6-g4
when mate on h2 is threatened and the Bishop on g7 attacks the d4 pawn a second
time. Something I must defend against, hence my next move.12. h3
Stopping the Ng4 threat.
12...Bf513. d5
Maybe a bit premature but I did not
want my opponent to have a chance to play c7-c6 and then have a chance of my
pawn getting stuck on d4 with a Bishop on g7 eventually bearing down on it.
Probably something simple like 13. Re1 just developing is fine.13...c6
This is Black's first big mistake in
the game. Now the Queen on c6 will become vulnerable to attack.14. dxc6
At this point I was very happy as no
matter which way Black recaptures I should have a comfortable edge here.
14...Qxc6
No better is capturing with the pawn as
it would be a weak isolated pawn on the open c-file.15. Qb3
Freezing the Rook on f8 as the f7 pawn
needs defense.15...Rac816. Bb5
Putting a question to the Queen. Not
easy to see a safe haven for it at the moment. 16...Qc5 17. Be3
Once again tempoing the Queen and
further improving my pieces.17...Qc718. Rac1
Opposing the file the Queen is on with
my Rook. Something Black will have to react to eventually.18...Qb8
Here I thought that Black should have
thrown in 18...Be6 to force my Queen to a more awkward square.
19. Rfe1 a6 20. Be2 b521. Qb4
A nice finesse. Now Bf4 can come to hit
the Black Queen further and I have ideas of playing the Queen to a5 to
highlight the a6 weakness.21...h5
I was very confused by this move and
quite happy to see it. This does not threaten anything and only makes the g5
square a weakness now.22. Bf4
Bringing the Queen out of it's hiding
place.22...Qa723. Qa5
Fixing the a6 pawn as a permanent
weakness which Black must always keep an eye on.23...Qd4
This only makes the Queen even more
vulnerable. Instead I was expecting 23...Ne4 when the Bishop on g7 comes to
life.
24. Be3 Qd6 25. Red1
Continuing to kick the Queen around
move after move. 25...Qe626. Bf3
Threatening Bb7 forking the Rook and
pawn.26...Ne4
A nice move, finally activating the
Bishop on g7. Now the pawn on b2 will come under fire.27. Nxe4Rxc1
A necessary in between move. If not
then I will play Rxc8 myself and then when I play Qxa6 down the road the Rook
on c8 will be undefended gaining me time. 28. Bxc1 Bxe429. Bxe4
I also thought about 29. Re1 here
inducing 29...f5 but I do not think this really hurts Black.29...Qxe4 30. Qxa6 Qc2 31. Re1 Bxb2 32.
Bxb2 Qxb2
And now we get to an equal endgame.
However, I only had about 60 seconds left on my clock against his 15+ minutes
left. Luckily I had a 5 second increment here to rely on for the rest of the
game.33. Qc6
Aiming to get the Rooks off with Re8 as
I was low on time.33...b4 34. Re4 Rd835. Re8+
Taking the opportunity to trade off the
Rooks to make things less complicated for myself being under 1 minute on the
clock.
35...Rxe8 36. Qxe8+ Kg7 37. Qa4h4
A nice move as I wanted to play g2-g3
and h3-h4 myself when the position would be dead drawn.38. Kf1 Qc1+ 39. Ke2 Qc4+ 40. Ke1 Qe4+
41. Kf1 Qd3+ 42. Ke1 Qc3+ 43. Ke2 Qc4+ 44.Ke1 Qe4+ 45. Kf1
On moves 44 and 45 I had tried to claim
a draw by 3-fold repetition as there is no penalty on ICC for a wrong claim and
my team was up 1 to 0 in the match so far. 45...g546. Qb3
Finally having the chance to bring my
Queen back into the game.46...Qd4 47. Ke2 Kf8 48. Qc2Ke7
The only way to try to make progress
but I thought Black should have tried to exercise a bit more patience to try to
get me lower on time, around 50 seconds left at this point.49. Qc7+ Ke6 50. Qc8+ Kf6 51. Qh8+, Black resigns. The funny thing is that my opponent
told me after the game he saw the Qh8+ move if he played 50...Ke5 and said to
himself to calculate out the endgame if the Queens were traded but somehow
forgot about this move on Kf6. Before my game ended we were up 1.5-0.5 in the
match so this win secured us advancing over the East in the final four go. 1-0

The match
decided, the pressure was off my own game. After 35 moves, this game reached a
complex endgame with only about 10 minutes each. At one point, it looked like
Radomskyj's a-pawn was going to run for a touchdown. Eventually, we had six
passed pawns between us. After mutual inaccuracies, I was able to reach a won
position and converted. Thanks to this win, I ended my playoff point drought.

We won this
match by the impressive-looking score of 3½ to ½, and against a World Champ
team no less (the USAT East is also billed as the World Amateur Team
Championship). Considering the situation in the last minutes of play on boards
2 and 4, this match could have easily gone the other way.

Now we were able
to take stock of the North (For Whom the Azbel Tolls) vs. West (USC) match. The
North was playing at a private residence with Betsy Dynako as TD, and the West
was playing at USC with Randy Hough as TD. By time my game with Radomskyj
finished, three of the games were decided and the North was leading by 2 wins
to 1. Ratings were a good predictor of the results on boards 2 and 3. The
North's Erik Santarius (2338) and Alex Betaneli (2304) chalked up wins over,
respectively, Danyul Lawrence (2175) and Blake Phillips (2098).

On board 4, the
West fielded their unrated alternate, Sriram Balasubramanian, whose provisional
USCF rating is over 2200. Balasubramanian won in 28 moves over the North's
underdog, 1538 rated team namesake, Greg Azbel.

Only the game between GM Josh
Friedel and IM Jack Peters was still in progress. But in the simplified
position, neither side could claim winning chances, and the game was drawn
after 79 moves.

The draw secured
the match win for the North. So it would be North versus South for the playoff
title, and only the color toss remained to be decided. With just an hour and a
half before the final match, we jumped in the car to get a quick bite to eat.
On the way, Chief TD Carol Jarecki called to let us know the color allocation.
When we got back, Matt and Jeremy took a last look at the games database.

Unlike the match
with the East, I did not like our chances as much in this match. Javad, who
plays infrequently, would face a GM on board 1, while we would be out-rated by
more than 200 points by the 2300+ masters on the North's boards 2 and 3.

During our meal,
Jeremy commented, "it would be a good thing if we can get one point" out of our
games on boards 2 and 3. I was not optimistic about this possibility, but kept
such thoughts to myself.

Before long, we
were back at Modus Operandi, and the match was underway. Early on, things
looked promising for the South. Playing Erik Santarius, I obtained a promising
position. But after a couple of careless moves by me, accurate play by
Santarius turned the tables, and soon I had to resign.

As I took stock
of the remaining games, there was still some reason to for hope. All three
games were complex battles that could go either way. On board 4, George Azbel
was proving that his low rating did not mean we should expect an easy point. By
move 23, all the minor pieces were traded, and the players began maneuvering
their Queens and Rooks. By move 30, both players had less that 2 minutes each,
and the pace picked up. In time pressure, Azbel was not able to hold the
balance, and all of a sudden, Matt penetrated the White position with his Queen
and delivered checkmate.

annotations by Matt Helfst
1.e4 d5
I normally play the French defense but
did not like the idea of getting an exchange French against a much lower rated
player. This game was a must win for us in the match with a big rating
differential.2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5.
Bc4 Bf5 6. O-O e6 7. d3 c6
All very normal stuff up to this point.
I think maybe my move here is a bit inaccurate.8. a3
Missing his chance to play 8. Bf4 to
prevent Black's idea of playing his Bishop to d6 and Queen to c78...Bd6 9. Re1 Nbd710. Bd2
Now White is threatening Ne4 to trade
off the Bishop on d6 so I must react to this.10...Qc7 11. h3 O-O
Here I thought for a long time as I was
worried about Nd4 ideas attacking on the e6 point further but I was prepared to
sacrifice at this point.12. Nh4
If 12. Nd4 Bg6 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. Nxe6
Qb6 15. Nxf8 Rxf8 and Black has good compensation for the Rook and two pawns
for the two minor pieces.12...Bg6 13. Nxg6 hxg614. Ne4
Maybe a mistake. Now I can trade off
one of my Knights and quickly bring my second Knight into the game.
14...Nxe4 15. Rxe4b5
An unusual move but it gains space on
the queenside with time hitting on the Bishop.16. Ba2 Nf617. Rh4
A shocking move for me to see. What is
the Rook doing on h4? I did not see a way for him to penetrate down the h-file.
17...Rfe8 18. Qf3 Rad8 19. Re1c5
Intending to play c5-c4 at the right
moment when the Bishop on d2 undefended will be a problem.20. Bg5 Qe7
Here I thought for 30 minutes on the
clock! I wanted to play 20...Be7 which is the more natural looking move,
however this is met with disastrous results. If 20...Be7 21. Rxe6! fxe6 22.
Bxe6+ Kf8 23. Rh8# checkmate! An incredible line which shows things are not so
easy for Black.21. Bd5
A bad move, giving up any advantage
White had.21...Bh2+
Equalizing the game with the trade of
Bishops.22. Kxh2 Rxd5 23. Bxf6 gxf6
At this point we had already lost board
2 and we were looking worse on boards 1 and 3. So I had to keep the Queens on
the board to play for a win. But if 23...Qxf6 24. Qxd5 and White is winning.24. Rhe4 Qd6+ 25. Qg3Qc6
Once again keeping pieces on the board
to be able to play for a win.26. Qh4 Kg7
A very nice move, defending f6 and
allowing for the Rook to occupy the h8 square.27. Qf4 Rf5
At this point we are both below 3
minutes left on the clock and my plan is to just keep all the pieces on the
board and shift around waiting for my lower rated opponent to crack under the
pressure.28. Qg3 Rh8 29. Rf4 Rd5 30. Qf3
Attacking the f6 pawn and threatening
c2-c4 to trade off the Queens!30...Qd6
Getting out of the pin which would have
traded Queens and pinning his Rook to his King to indirectly defend the f6
pawn.
31. Qg3 e5 32. Rf3 Rh5 33. Kg1 Rd4 34. Rfe3 Rg5 35. Qh2 Qd5 36. Rg3 Rh5 37. Ree3
Finally the opponent cracks under the
pressure and simply allows me to come into the position.37...Qa2
Attacking pawns and threatening
checkmate.38. c3
With only seconds left on his clock my
opponent hangs checkmate. 38...Qb1+ 39. Re1 Qxe1#
And as soon as I had won on board 4 for
our team my team mate on board 3 also won in dramatic fashion coming back from
a much worse position to steal a point! And then we were left with only board 1
going, our IM Maharramzade against GM Friedel with the score being 2-1 in our favor
only needing a draw. Knowing this IM Maharramzade found a way to simplify the
game into an equal Rook and pawn endgame securing our National Championship
title! 0-1

Now the match
was tied, but the outcome was anything but clear. On board 3, the players had
about 2 minutes each, and Jeremy was bouncing in his chair and softly
calculating his variations aloud to himself. On move 34, Betaneli got a passed
pawn on a3, and a move later a Black Rook came to b2. Now Jeremy's position was
looking pretty shaky. What came next completely shocked me. Jeremy allowed the
Black a-pawn to Queen with check, getting a Rook and Bishop in return, along
with some threats against Black's King. On his next move, Betaneli, now down to
less than a minute, grabbed a rather hot pawn, and now Jeremy began to
furiously calculate variations, his mouse cursor flying around the board. Time
seemed suspended, but only 30 seconds passed before Jeremy moved. I had been
trying to follow his calculations, and did not see the full line, but our sharp-eyed
TD found the forced mate. Jeremy missed this mate, but played a line that won
Black's Queen, and now it was game over and we pull ahead 2 points to 1.

Below is the
very exciting game. After studying the game later, Jeremy summed it up with
these thoughts: "Against Betaneli round 2, I was first equal (Rxc3), then worse
(Rfc1?!), then better (f6!), then clearly winning (Qg3!!), then dead lost
(...Qxf2+!), then in trouble again (RxR a1=Q Rb1 Qxc3 BxB), and then mega
swindling (...Rxe5?? Rc8+!!)Annotations
for that one sunken at the bottom of the Indian River never to see daylight".

On board 1, back
at move 33 Javad used almost all of his remaining time and then uncorked 33.e4!
Friedel had more than 17 minutes, compared to barely a minute-and-a-half
remaining for Javad, but now Friedel had serious problems to solve. He
jettisoned an exchange to diffuse Javad's threats and to trade Queens. As
Javad's remaining time dropped to a half a minute, and now aware that a draw
would secure the match, Javad gave back the exchange to reach an equal Rook and
Pawn endgame. The players bashed out another dozen moves, but the result was
never in doubt. When the draw was official, I jumped in the air, pumping both
fists and letting out a cheer in an uncharacteristic departure from my normal
reserved poise.

It was now
official, Armageddon Your Pieces had won the USAT Playoff. Jeremy described the
feeling as "the most exciting thing in my chess career so far."
Key to both our
match victories were the 4 points racked up by our 3rd and 4th
boards. Jeremy's come-from-behind win against Betaneli was crucial, and he
showed my pessimism about our ability to score against the top-heavy line up
was unwarranted.

In a nice touch, as the adrenaline was dissipating, I
received a congratulatory call from Carol Jarecki. I know a lot of work goes
into getting the playoff coordinate, and I commented to Carol that she must
have sent a hundred e-mails. She laughed and said it was "more like a hundred a
day". Her efforts paid off with a smooth event. The ICC team also did a great
job, setting up the tournament to make things easy for the players. Many thanks
to all the staff and volunteers who supported the playoff.